Hungry?

cml387 wrote: »

Buy mincemeat, burger bun,potatoes.
Scrunch meat up into suitable ball and flatten.
Peel potatoes, chop into wedges toss in oil.
Cook wedges in oven for 30 minutes, turn occassionally.
Fry burgers for 16 minutes turning once.
Toast bun under grill.
Add onions, cheese, tomato sauce to taste.

It's not rocket (leaf) science.

We do actually make our own homemade burgers in this house more than the equal of Eddie Rockets. Just didn't feel like cooking today.

Pretty much as you described.

I hate when I read about all the 'binding agents' people mention in recipes. No need whatsoever. You just need mince with a high enough fat content both for taste and binding. Homemade burgers is the one thing where you shouldn't buy the more expensive 5% fat round steak mince.

What I do is lay down some greaseproof paper. I also make a 6x12inch sheet folded in half. I used to just heave in all the mince into a mixing boil and add sea salt and black pepper and mix and knead and make balls. However I found that the burgers could end up the consistency of a frozen Big Als when cooked. ie. Over kneaded. What I started doing instead, was open the packets of mince. Sprinkle the sea salt and black pepper over the rectangular slab while still in the tray. Cut the slab of mince with a knife into portions. (Every burger is identical size now whereas grabbing lumps and making balls was more of a guestimation game) I then grab a portion slab and plonk it on the GP paper. Tossing it around to mix the seasonings as opposed to kneading it. One is breaking up the tubes of mince alright but not kneading the mince into a mince paste. Its over kneading to a mince paste that makes the final burger end up like a poxy Big Als. I then grab the loose mince and seasoning mix ball and plonk it on the folded GP paper sheet. Fold over the sheet over top. Rolling pin the burger into a patty. Start next one. Tried the Patty Press thingings and they over compact the patties making for a tough burger. Rolling pin to get it flat works for me without over compacting the mince.

Fry 'em dry on the pan and most of that fat comes out anyway but while its inside the burger its imparting taste and keeping the burger bound till it sears on the outside.

Nice toasted floury baps and usual garnishes.

Lovely.

While we're real chip lovers, when having homemade burgers we do labour save and just use McCains Frozen French Fries. We make our own eddie Rockets like condiment. 2 parts salt to one part pepper to one part paprika.